


Tired

by hanzoshimadas



Series: More Than Just Numbers, We're Brothers [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Brother Feels, Brotherly Bonding, Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Drug Addiction, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Psychological Trauma, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 09:06:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17864480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanzoshimadas/pseuds/hanzoshimadas
Summary: Klaus does something stupid after being admitted to a psych facility.





	Tired

**Author's Note:**

> As with all my fics, the number order of the siblings refers to their age. Diego is an older brother to Klaus and Ben.

When Father decided he no longer cared about devoting even the smallest amount of his attention to them, the siblings found themselves dumped into a normal high school full of normal kids.

The transition was easy for Allison and Luther who seemed to fit in almost immediately, Diego kept to himself, enjoying his own company and the opportunity to learn new subjects outside of those they had been trained in by Father at the academy.

Klaus however... he wasn't doing so great.

It had only been a couple of months since they'd lost Ben and he was still struggling with grief.

Diego had heard him whispering to Ben in his room at nights, hoping to conjure their brother without any success.

Kids were awful, and Klaus found this out the hard way.

Klaus walked into the academy, bag dragging along the ground behind him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just super." He answered, sarcastically.

"Everything alright at school?"

"What, apart from the fact that they all think I'm a freak, yeah, just swell." Klaus mumbled under his breath.

Diego sighed.

"You're not a freak, Klaus."

"You sure about that?" His brother scoffed. "Normal people don't have powers." Klaus walked off upstairs.

* * *

In the weeks and months that followed, Diego began to notice changes in Klaus, the once happy-go-lucky kid falling ever further into depression, and before long, drugs.

He knew there was a dealer at school he was getting his supply from, but Diego could never find enough leads to suggest who it was.

His little brother began to fall deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole, the odd pill turning into a fully fledged addiction that no one but him seemed to care about.

He tried talking to Mom, he tried telling the others, but everyone lacked interest.

Diego began noticing other changes in his brother too. For one, the nightmares Klaus was plagued by seemed to stop, the kid even seeming happier then he was, but he knew that was probably down to the drugs.

The front door of the academy slammed closed causing him to jump.

In walked Klaus cradling his arm against his chest.

"Klaus?"

His little brother startled, not having noticed he was there. He dropped his bag, the movement jolting his arm causing him to wince in pain.

Noticing this immediately, despite Klaus' attempts to hide his discomfort, Diego closed the distance between them.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Tripped."

Diego scoffed.

"Sure you did..." Dirt and patches of blood stained his little brother's clothes. "What did they do?" He asked, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible.

"Diego, for fuck sake, leave me alone..."

"What did they do, Klaus?" His tone grew sterner.

"They were talking shit about Ben!" Klaus shouted, catching Diego off-guard. "So I punched one of them, and they beat me up for it."

Diego sighed.

"Klaus..."

"I know, I should have held my ground better, I should have used my 'training' because that's what it's there for, self-defence, but I am sick of being the freak, Diego! So yeah, I did nothing and they held me down and beat me up, you happy now?!"

Diego checked over his brother.

"You're not a fighter, Klaus, and you were outnumbered." He stated in an attempt at reassurance.

"Whatever." Klaus walked off upstairs.

* * *

Walking to Klaus' room, Diego lightly knocked on the door.

"Go away."

"No." He answered, opening the door to reveal his brother lying on his back on his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"I didn't say you could come in."

"Tough shit."

Diego placed the first aid kit down on the bed.

"Sit up, I need to clean that cut on your head."

Klaus scowled.

"I can do it myself you know."

"I'm sure you can, just... humour me, okay?" Diego asked.

Klaus rolled his eyes but did as he asked, sitting upright and playing good patient while he disinfected the cut. Once he was done, he closed the first aid box and headed towards the door.

"You had anything today?"

"Meaning?"

"Drugs, Klaus, have you taken any?"

Klaus slumped backwards on his bed once again.

"Why do you care?"

"Because if you haven't, I'll get you some painkillers for that arm."

"I haven't had anything."

"And that's the truth?"

"Yesssss, jesus!"

"Good." Diego nodded before leaving the room.

* * *

Luther and Allison were sat whispering to each other in the living room when he walked in.

"What's up?" Diego asked in curiosity.

"Did you not hear?"

He shook his head.

"The principal called Dad to arrange for a psychologist to talk to Klaus, they're gonna' lock him up." Luther stated.

Diego's eyes widened.

"And Dad agreed?"

They nodded.

"Shit!"

Diego sprinted out the academy.

* * *

He caught up with his little brother outside the school.

"Klaus!"

Diego rushed over.

"Diego, you have to help me, please!" Klaus practically begged.

"Klaus, this is the best option for you. The doctors at the facility will be able to help you." The psychologist stated.

"No! You can't do this, please."

"There's nothing to be scared of, Klaus, I promise."

Diego placed a hand of reassurance on his little brother's shoulder, knowing that no matter how extreme the situation was, in the long run, this was the best solution to help Klaus deal with his addiction.

"I'll ride with you."

"Diego!" Klaus exclaimed, a sharp look of betrayal in his eyes.

"Come on." Diego opened the door to the car.

His little brother looked away before climbing in, resigned.

* * *

This lasted for only a few miles before Klaus became overwhelmed in wracking sobs, burying himself against Diego's side, tears turning the grey fabric a darker shade as he looked much younger than his fifteen years.

But Diego knew, this wasn't his brother, this was what his brother became while poisoned by those awful drugs he insisted on filling his body with.

Klaus knew this was a losing battle, it was the whole reason he'd gotten into the car in the first place. There was nothing Father would do to stop this, none of his other siblings gave a crap, Ben was gone, and Diego, the one person he'd always felt able to trust outside of Ben was going along with the idea of this too.

"I hate you..."

Turning his head away, Klaus slumped away from Diego, leaning against the window, desperately wishing for this all to be just another nightmare.

Klaus' words cut deep as he struggled not to throw open the door and get his little brother out of here. But he stayed strong, knowing that the real Klaus would never say that.

"It'll just be until you're better."

* * *

In the room Klaus had been assigned, the brothers sat on the bed, neither having said a word to the other since they'd arrived.

A few more seconds of silence followed before Klaus finally broke it.

"Please don't leave me here."

"Klaus..."

"I'll get better... I'll stop, I'll be better."

"Klaus, listen to me." Diego placed his hand on his little brother's shoulder. "You need this, okay? And you're going to be just fine. The doctors here are specialists, they'll help you, and then I'll be right here for you when you get out." He sighed. "Come here."

Diego pulled Klaus into a hug.

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

In the parking lot of the facility, Diego was pacing back and forth.

The call had come through last night, '01:43' to be exact. Mom had answered but Diego had sprinted to get the phone, knowing in his gut that something was wrong.

An hour earlier Klaus had been found in an empty room of the ward, wrists cut neatly and precisely, lying unconscious on the floor.

Visiting hours dictated that he'd have to wait until 10AM the following morning before he could visit. Luckily the doctor had given him permission to come at 7AM, which was why he had been camped out in the parking lot since 6AM, not having been able to even consider falling asleep after receiving news like that.

Dad had done all the legal shit over the phone with the facility allowing them to release Klaus into his custody, the old fuck not even giving enough of a crap to come and see his son, but Diego wasn't going down that road, it would just make him angry, and he was already angry enough.

At himself.

He hadn't taken the news well, smashing numerous items in his room as a result. But he didn't care. How could he? He'd nearly lost another one of his brothers.

When the hand of his watch reached 7AM, Diego rushed into the reception of the hospital where the psychologist from the school was waiting for him.

"Diego."

He walked into the elevator.

"Don't talk to me." He stated in a stern tone. "You persuaded me that this was the best place for my little brother and I was stupid enough to believe you. He begged me not to leave him here, not to leave him, but I did, because you told me you could help him get better. I'm the one who's gonna' have to rebuild his trust, not you."

The psychologist didn't have the chance to say anything in response before the elevator chimed.

Walking out into the corridor, the doctor who had been there when Klaus was admitted approached him.

"Diego, right?"

"H-h- how is he?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Resting." The doctor answered. "He had a long night."

Diego took a breath, trying to keep himself calm for the sake of not stuttering.

"Each patient here is assigned a doctor, Klaus' is Dr. Myers. He was the one who made the discovery last night and offered support to your brother. He's been with Klaus since it happened trying to calm him down." He explained. "Klaus is in the day room currently, we thought it best for him to have some space from the other patients right now, so the room is off limits to all other residents of the ward, and all staff members have been informed."

"Can I see him?" Diego asked.

"Like I said, Klaus is resting but I'm sure he would like to see a familiar face. This way."

He followed him down the corridor to the day room and slowly opened the door, thanking the doctor before walking inside.

It didn't take him long to find Klaus. He was lying on one of the couches, bundled against the arm. His black curls were all over the place as his head rested on a pillow. He was covered by a thin blanket spread over him and fisted in one hand. From what he could see past the light blue fabric, Klaus was wearing a long sleeved sweater and a pair of sweatpants, the most un-Klaus look possible. He had obviously been given them to wear by the facility.

Taking a deep breath, Diego walked softly across the day room before approaching his little brother.

Klaus looked up at him with tired eyes, clearly having been woken by the door opening.

Diego didn't know what to say.

"Hey." His little brother's raw tone spoke up. A tone that backed up what the doctor had said about Dr. Myers needing to calm him down.

Klaus' voice sounded painful and carried a tiredness that clearly showed under his eyes. It was obvious that his brother had lost weight, which Diego didn't think was possible, but he was staring at the results. The outlines of bones were painfully visible through the skin of his neck and Diego was sure that he would see ribs clear as day if the blanket and sweater weren't obscuring the view.

Diego couldn't help but notice how worn down Klaus appeared. He didn't want to think about how his brother had come to look so exhausted during his time at the facility.

He forced his eyes away, looking around the room for something to sit on. Noticing a stool, he picked it up and placed it down in front of the couch, taking a seat before shuffling it forward to be beside his little brother.

Klaus changed his position slightly, clearly not comfortable in the one he was in. As he moved, the sleeves of his sweater rose slightly to reveal white bandages on his wrists.

Diego's stomach turned upon noticing them, although he knew it was guilt eating away at him rather than nausea.

Once Klaus noticed where his gaze was lying he shuffled his arms across his body weakly so that the sleeves slid back down, covering his bandaged wrists once again.

"Klaus..." The weakness in his voice surprised even Diego as he quietly cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry, I should never have let them put you in here."

"Diego, they were right."

He furrowed an eyebrow.

"I'm so sick of being afraid. I'm sick of hearing the voices, hearing their screams, the nightmares... it's exhausting." Klaus paused, tone breaking up slightly. "I can't... I'm tired, Diego... I'm so tired... and I miss Ben." He admitted in a saddened tone, curling his legs up as he weakly attempted to move the blanket so that his legs were once again covered, but found himself without the strength to do so.

Diego noticed this and reached across, adjusting the blanket for him.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He offered a weak smile. "What do you say we get out of here?"

Klaus nodded simply in response.

"Come on."


End file.
